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Human nature is such that people are born with a love of profit If they follow these inclinations, they will struggle and snatch from each other, and inclinations to defer or yield will die.
Xunzi
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Xunzi
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More quotes by Xunzi
If the quickness of the mind and the fluency of the tongue are too punctilious and sharp, moderate them in your activity and rest.
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The coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one's inner power.
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One must remember equality, yet also be aware of difference, for if the people are allowed to act as it pleases them without coming up against displeasure, if one gives rein to its desires without setting [any] limit, it becomes confused and can no longer take delight in anything.
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In antiquity the sage kings recognized that men's nature is bad and that their tendencies were not being corrected and their lawlessness controlled.
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Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.
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There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
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If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.
Xunzi
The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.
Xunzi
Not having heard something is not as good as having heard it having heard it is not as good as having seen it having seen it is not as good as knowing it knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice.
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Music is a fantastic peacekeeper of the world, it is integral to harmony, and it is a required fundamental of human emotion.
Xunzi
Thus, anybody who follows this nature and gives way its states will be led into quarrels and conflicts, and go against the conventions and rules of society, and will end up a criminal.
Xunzi
The drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?
Xunzi
The noble person uses things the lesser man is used by things.
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Thus, that one can find no place to walk through the breadth of the earth is not because the earth is not tranquil but because the danger to every step of the traveler lies generally with words.
Xunzi
Quarreling over food and drink, having neither scruples nor shame, not knowing right from wrong, not trying to avoid death or injury, not fearful of greater strength or of greater numbers, greedily aware only of food and drink - such is the bravery of the dog and boar.
Xunzi
If the impulse to daring and bravery is too fierce and violent, stay it with guidance and instruction.
Xunzi
Misery is evil quarreling, a misfortune. There is only one possibility of avoiding both: a clear division of society. [Otherwise] the strong tyrannize the weak, the intelligent frighten the stupid, the inferior resist the superior, and the young mock the old.
Xunzi
The petty man is eager to make boasts, yet desires that others should believe in him. He enthusiastically engages in deception, yet wants others to have affection for him. He conducts himself like an animal, yet wants others to think well of him.
Xunzi
Sacrifice is a state of mind in which our thoughts turn with longing [toward Heaven, the Ancestors], It is the supreme expression of loyalty, love, and respect.
Xunzi
I once tried standing up on my toes to see far out in the distance, but I found that I could see much farther by climbing to a high place.
Xunzi